Vintage - 2011 - Croutons Fried in Butter - RV KITCHEN

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Description
This video demonstrates the most well known and widely prepared version of a French crouton. Of course, croutons can be made in a variety of ways but this version is guaranteed to be tasty and well received. Frying pieces of bread in clarified butter and then seasoning them will always produce a great tasting crouton.
These particular croutons are great for most salads, soups and last second additions to a whole host of different preparations. The list is endless.
There's certainly a number of different ways to make croutons. Of course, what the intended use might be, would normally play a role in deciding which method you might use. For example, the croutons made in this video would be the wrong choice for a Caesar salad, where a toasted crouton might make more sense. Or if the crouton was going to be used to assemble canapes, these fried croutons may not be the way to go.

Highlights
Yield: Assorted sizes and amounts
Hands on Preparation Time: 5 - 10 minutes
Total Preparation Duration: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 loaf square sandwich white or wheat bread (Pullman)
2 cups clarified butter
Some salt & pepper
6 slices bread from a French Baguette - approx. 1/4 inch thick

Method
You should cut your croutons from bread (square sandwich bread) that has been previously/still frozen.
You should use a serrated bread knife to cut the frozen bread into the preferred square or triangular sizes for your intended use. The video demonstrates four different cuts - two different size squares, which are the most common, stars and some circular slices from a French baguette. It's not necessary to have the baguette be frozen before slicing it.
Heat the clarified butter in a saute pan until approx. 350 degrees. Plunge the flat pieces of bread into the hot fat and move them around somewhat (and turn them over once) throughout the frying time in order to avoid over frying them in any particular spots. The square/diced pieces of bread should be tossed gently to insure evening frying/browning. Using a slotted spoon remove them when done and place them onto paper towels to drain and cool. You may season them with salt & pepper if desired, depending on their intended uses.

Common Mistakes
Frying the croutons in oil that is not hot enough will yield a greasy crouton. Also over frying the croutons may cause them to be too hard.

Storage Specifications
After the croutons are cool you should store them at room temperature in an air tight container for up to a week without hesitation. If they are exposed to humidity during storage you may re-crisp them slightly in a low temperature oven.

Chef's Notes
The use of fried croutons can be interchangeably used with toasted versions on selected food preparations. The three primary ways that croutons are made is either fried, baked/toasted or toasted under a flame.

Preparing & Serving Larger Quantities
This method should only be used for small amounts at a time because of your ability to both monitor the cooking and removing them from the hot oil quickly when they are done.

SPECIAL INGREDIENTS I MAY HAVE USED IN THIS VIDEO:
My Clarified Butter / Ghee Video:
   • Vintage - 2003 -Clarified Butter / Gh...  

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